In my last post Step into the New: Great Awakening I wrote how God told me love is in the midst of a great awakening. I explained how the great awakenings drew several thousand people to the love of Jesus. It is our responsibility and honor as the body of Christ to both usher in and light the fire of this great movement. We are the fire starters of the Lord. If we want to be that we must show the love of Jesus. People need to see His love demonstrated in this next great revival. The time of church politics and antics are over. It’s time to show the raw love of Jesus. It’s time for the unnecessary and unbiblical rules and regulations to take a back seat so that God’s glory can be displayed. As I wrote in Surviving the Storm we are getting ready to see a great harvest of souls.
If you have not read Surviving the Storm I urge you to because it is highly related to the virus storm we are in. This is not a time for fear. As I wrote in Desire the New: Waiting on God this is a time of preparation. God is preparing his body to display his love to the masses of people who will be seeking his face. Even though these uncertain times seem like they are dampening the movement of God, they are really setting it up. I will write more about this in my next blog post about disappointment so please follow this blog if you have not already. My goal as a prophetic teacher is to prepare the body of Christ to work for the Lord in their God given destiny which includes this next great move of God. It is also to help people awaken to the love of God and teach them how they can be a part of the body so that they too can help carry out God’s plans during the great awakenings.
Before there is a greater awakening within the world it starts within ourselves. To have a great awakening within the body of Christ or the church it starts within us. It starts with us humbling ourselves and crying out to God. If you don’t already I urge you to pray in the spirit. I wrote about how to do that in my last blog post and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I don’t know everything but I can share what I know. If I am ever wrong about things I am sorry. There is a point in time when all of us are wrong about something and praise God his grace is sufficient. I love to learn so feel free to drop some comments. In this season of preparation we should all be learning as much as we can without fear about the things of God. We learn so that we can be transformed into the image of Jesus. This includes our surrender to Him.
There comes a time when we have to get real with ourselves, with other people, and with God.
There is a way that seems right to a person, but it’s end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12). This includes the death of our dreams. If we are stuck in our ways rather than God’s ways we will see destruction. I encourage you to read my blog post Desire the New: Gods Ways. If we focus on what we think we want instead of what God wants, we won’t see the breakthrough leading to our heart’s desires. There comes a time when we have to get real with ourselves, with other people, and with God. What seems right to me may include isolation. I naturally want to isolate because of rejection and pain. But I have to get back up. If I don’t form and maintain those crucial and divine friendships or connections then God’s plans for my life won’t come to pass. I can’t be a one person team. We have to allow ourselves to be part of a team God called us to, so that we can reach a desired goal. That is what the disciples did. They gathered and made plans together to reach a common goal. The word of God says not to neglect the gathering of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). If you would like to read about divine connections or friendships read my blog post Wisdom for Breakthrough: Friendship.
It may not be easy when God calls us to be friends with people who are very different from us or who may have even hurt us in the past, but we must if he says so because he sees the bigger picture. But in order for us to be able to work with the people he calls us to work with we must forgive. We must lay all bitterness and unforgiveness aside for good. We cannot hate the people God wants us to work with. You may think you don’t have hate until you start thinking of those ill feelings and thoughts when scrolling on social media. You might see that person who caused you harm and think only of those hurtful things they did to you. If your scrolling on social media or just thinking about that person and start having ill thoughts of them rebuke those thoughts. Cast down those imaginations. If you say something bad about someone null and void those cursed words you sent out or they may come back to you.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). What you speak or think reflects the condition of your heart. Create in us clean hearts God and help us forgive and see the good in one another. We need to see the good in one another and make allowances for one another. This would be the opposite of nit picking or trying to find fault with someone. In Colossians 3:12 Apostle Paul said we are to “put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” You don’t know why that person behaved the way they did. Be careful or God may allow you to be in that situation to see how you respond. This may or may not have happened to me a couple times.
We shouldn’t nit pick because we don’t like someone due to envy. We don’t know what that person had or has to go through to have what they have. God gives everyone gifts as he chooses. We never know, they may struggle with envy towards us too. Also if someone tries to block someone’s destiny out of fears that the person will appear to be “greater” than them, than they are operating out of the flesh or in other words they are being carnal. Paul had to address the church of Corinth because they were operating out of carnality. He wrote this to the church of Corinth: “for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men.” (1st Corinthians 3:3). God will let things fall into place as he chooses. If he allows someone to appear to be “greater” or more popular than us in a certain area or circumstance so be it. It’s for his purpose, not ours. God gives you plans that are best for you. Not to get off topic but I will mention again that the word men back then was often synonymous with the word people. We block ourselves when we envy or hate others.
We are also not supposed to hate others because they sin in ways we don’t. This can apply to circumstances of unforgiveness pertaining to the pain someone caused us. Someone may think well you don’t know what they did to me, but Jesus said to bless those who curse us (Luke 6:28). He also said blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Now this does not mean we let people abuse us or treat us badly. Sometimes we should probably stand up for ourselves. We should also not participate in sin if a friend is. If we feel lead to, we should let a friend know if they are sinning, even when it pertains to the pain they cause us.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend…” (Proverbs 27:6). If we call someone out on their sin it should probably be in a discrete and private way first please. We are to call each other out on our mess sometimes but with love and without condemnation and only because we care. But friends don’t only call each other out. We are supposed to encourage and build each other up (1 Thessolonians 5:11). When God puts it on your heart, go ahead and encourage that person. You don’t want to regret not doing what he told you to do. What is God putting on your heart? We need to pay attention to what God puts on our hearts. We need to listen to what He is telling us. Blessed is the man who listens to the Lord (Proverbs 8:34). We shouldn’t worry whether we are qualified to do what God calls us to do. It can be an assignment to use our talent, gifts, money, or time. If you don’t feel qualified or if you feel like you don’t have the resources, just know that God gave you everything you need to do what he instructed you to do. He provides the provision. Many times we think about what we can do in the future, but what about now? What good can you do now?
I know one thing we need to do; That is to obey God’s word. If you have not already I encourage you to read Obedience Before Sacrifice. James tells us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only…” (James 1:22). The word or in other words Jesus commands us to “love one another” (John 13:34). To love someone we need to see the good in them. We should see the good in everyone. We are not supposed to focus only on the bad things about people. I’m sure God sees the good in everyone. When we say we don’t like someone we better watch ourselves. We wouldn’t want God to say the same about us. The Lord is “long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He wants his children to be long-suffering towards each other. Think of this from God’s perspective: You wouldn’t want your kids to hate each other or not be willing to work with one another when you want them to. This means that person someone may not like may be someone God loves and has plans for. Often the very people someone hates is the person God wants them to work with for His purpose.
God will have people partner together whose skills compliment one another. You may be lacking in one area someone else excels in that they can help you with, and you may excel in an area they lack in that you can help them with. It may sound selfish but think about the good they can do for you. It’s actually not selfish when it’s for Gods glory. We short change and block ourselves from our promises and blessings when we don’t partner with the people we are supposed to partner with. When we get rid of the divisions within the body of Christ and find common ground for the common goal of the great commission we will see breakthrough. Maybe that’s what God is waiting on. For all of us to stop bickering and start encouraging. We are supposed to strengthen one another. We are also supposed to strengthen ourselves in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6). Some of us need to ask God for strength to forgive others but also to forgive ourselves. If you are alive and breathing there is still hope. You know, no matter what you have done in the past God can use you for his purpose. Since He wants all to come to repentance you are never out of God’s reach. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). I hope you love yourself.
We are not supposed to be lovers of our self, but we are supposed to love ourselves the extent to which we know Christ died for us and we are loved and valued by God. Loving yourself blocks the devil from getting you to be in self doubt, defeat, and condemnation. There is no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1). When we have our identity in Christ we can be secure in Him. God wants us to be secure so that we can confidently bring people to him. Are you ready to work for the Lord? If you want to be part of the great Awakening you must be ready and willing to serve, realizing it’s an honor to live and die for your father in heaven who created the universe and who created you. God wants you to reach as many people you can because as mentioned he wishes none to perish. It may not be easy to serve but we have the Lord as our strength. It is a blessing to be a blessing and we store up treasures in heaven when we are a blessing. It’s fun to use our gifts and it’s fun to get revelation from God. It’s not only fun but it’s also crucial. But to be a part of what God wants to do we must have our hearts right.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8
The Lord is calling us to repentance and wanting us to get our hearts right for the great awakening. We cannot get stuck in our ways and reject what the Holy Spirit is telling us because that is a way of pride. “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18). Jesus told the pharisees “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.” (11:42). From this scripture we can clearly see that along with the giving Jesus is concerned with the condition of our heart. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at their heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
We should never think of someone as lower than us because we think we have more intelligence. If we think that way and God might allow us to mess up in a very stupid way. We are all stupid about something. We shouldn’t think more highly of ourselves if we think we have more talent or a greater appearance either. Similarly, economic status should be of no concern. Look at the parable of Lazarus beginning in Luke 16:19. Lazarus the beggar ended up in Heaven and the greedy rich man ended up in hell. God is no respecter of persons. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). Not everyone is in the body of Christ, but to reach as many people as we can should we not treat everyone with respect? Jesus even ate with the sinners and tax collectors (Matthew 9:10). Just think to the Pharisaical leaders Jesus was considered to be of lower status to the point of death. Praise God He rose again on the third day! He showed them! He is the king of the universe! Most of our beloved disciples were martyred as well. You may not know, but that person you reject or condemn may be near to the heart of Jesus.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). We must be pure in heart to be seated next to Jesus in Heavenly places. We must be pure in heart to carry out His plans for our life. We must be pure in heart to make a great impact during the great awakening. We must have a self awakening. Please don’t get me wrong. I mess up too. In fact a lot of what I teach I have had experience with. But “when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19). As apostle Paul said you must “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” ( Ephesians 6:11). We will mess up from time to time but we can repent and God can help us change.
The way we behave reflects the condition of our heart. We have heard that hurting people hurt others. I believe that sometimes when we have anger it is really repressed sadness from pain. I hope you know God can help you with whatever pain you are facing. I have to cry out to God when I am in pain so that I can forgive those who hurt me. I don’t know what problems you are facing today. I don’t know if it’s issues of forgiveness, pain, fear, loneliness, pride, rejection, addiction, or any circumstance but I pray you overcome every hindrance the devil throws at you in Jesus name. I want you to be a part of this great awakening and I want you to be saved. God loves you. You are his treasure. He wants you to be adopted into his family so if you are not already please start by saying this prayer: Father God thank you for sending your son Jesus to earth to die on the cross for my sins. Jesus I confess you are the son of God and you are God. You died for my sins and rose on the third day. I invite your Holy Spirit into my life to guide me and bring me closer to you and your love. Thank you father for saving me. I love you Jesus.
Biblical Choices 